Kent State Baseball Takes On Wagner, Host Winthrop at Johnny Gill Memorial Tournament
2/24/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
KENT STATE GOLDEN FLASHES (1-2, 0-0)
JOHNNY GILL MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT
Friday, Feb. 25 • vs. Wagner Seahawks (0-0, 0-0) • 12 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 26 • at Winthrop Eagles (1-2, 0-0) • 12:30 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 27 • vs. Wagner Seahawks • 11 a.m.
Sunday, Feb. 27 • at Winthrop Eagles • 2:30 p.m.
THE WINTHROP BALLPARK • ROCK HILL, S.C.
PLEASE NOTE: There will be no Kent State Baseball Network Internet radio coverage of this weekend's Johnny Gill Memorial Tournament. You can listen to the Winthrop Internet radio broadcasts of Kent State's games against the Eagles by clicking here. The Kent State Baseball Network returns for next weekend's series at Louisville. Thank you for your continued support of the Golden Flashes.
PROBABLE PITCHING STARTERS
Friday, Feb. 25
Kent State: #5 Kyle Hallock (Sr., LHP, Sandusky, Ohio) 0-1, 9.64 ERA, 3 SO, 2 BB, 1 GS, 4.2 IP
Wagner: #9 Jon Lucas (Sr., RHP, Hackettstown, N.J.) 4-5, 5.91 ERA, 45 SO, 19 BB, 10 GS, 56.1 IP (2010)
Saturday, Feb. 26
Kent State: #19 Andrew Chafin (R-So., LHP, Wakeman, Ohio) 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0 SO, O BB, 0 GS, 0.2 IP
Winthrop: TBA
Sunday, Feb. 27
Kent State: #32 Ryan Mace (Jr., RHP, Tallmadge, Ohio) 0-1. 6.75 ERA, 4 SO, 2 BB, 1 GS, 5.1 IP
Wagner: #15 Matt Morris (Fr., LHP, Matawan, N.J.)
Sunday, Feb. 27
Kent State: #37 David Starn (Jr., LHP, Hudson, Ohio) 1-0, 1.29 ERA, 6 SO, 2 BB, 1 GS, 7.0 IP
Winthrop: TBA
THE STORYLINES
• Kent State baseball's 2011 season continues this weekend (Feb. 25-27) from Rock Hill, S.C. at the Johnny Gill Memorial Tournament, where the Golden Flashes will square off with both Wagner and host Winthrop twice over three days.
• The Golden Flashes opened the campaign last weekend in Atlanta with a three-game set at Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets outscored Kent State, 14-4, and outhit the Flashes, 25-10, to capture the first two games of the series. Kent State avoided the sweep and knocked off No. 19 GT on Sunday (Feb. 20), 6-1, using excellent pitching, an awakened offense and outstanding defense to earn its first victory of 2011. The victory marks Kent State's first over a ranked team since eliminating No. 24 Cal Poly, 10-9, at the 2009 NCAA Tempe Regional on May 30, 2009. Kent State turned the tables on the Ramblin' Wreck in the third game by outhitting the hosts, 11-5, while keeping GT's bats at bay.
"We played about as well as you can play," said seventh-year head coach Scott Stricklin following Sunday's win. "All the way around -- pitching, defense, clutch hitting -- it was a great performance."
• Kent State is currently ranked No. 23 in the CollegeBaseballDaily.com Mid-Major Poll after going 1-2 against GT last weekend. The Flashes received votes in the USA Today/ESPN College Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll.
SERIES HISTORY: WINTHROP
Kent State is 14-12 all-time against Winthrop.
SCOUTING WINTHROP
Winthrop finished 2010 with a record of 27-30 and tied for fifth place in the Big South Confernece.
Head Coach: Tom Riginos just began his first season at the helm of the Eagles.
SERIES HISTORY: WAGNER
The Golden Flashes hold a 2-1 edge all-time against the Seahawks.
SCOUTING WAGNER
Wagner posted a 26-31 mark in 2010.
Head Coach: Joe Litterio is entering his 12th season at the helm of the Seahawk baseball program in 2011.
STUNNING STARN
Kent State junior left-handed starting pitcher David Starn (Hudson, Ohio) was masterful on the mound Sunday at Georgia Tech, tossing seven innings of four-hit ball and surrendering one earned run as the Kent State baseball team used excellent pitching, an awakened offense and outstanding defense to earn its first victory of the 2011 campaign with a 6-1 win over the No. 19 Yellow Jackets at Russ Chandler Stadium. Starn fanned six in the win and improved his career pitching record to 10-3.
"David Starn played as as well as I've seen him play since he's been here at Kent State," said seventh-year head coach Scott Stricklin. "He's very reliable. He throws a lot of strikes and does a great job of holding runners. He does everything you need a pitcher to do and always gives you a chance to win no matter what. When he's on, he's really tough to hit."
The accolades came rolling in for Starn following his performance. He was named Mid-American Conference East Division Pitcher of the Week, CollegeBaseball360.com Primetime Pitcher of the Week and CollegeBaseballInsider.com Central Region Pitcher of the Week.
HOT START
Kent State senior right fielder Ben Klafczynski (Granger Township, Ohio) led the Golden Flashes offensively with a .538 batting average and seven hits in Kent State's three-game series at Gerogia Tech last weekend (Feb. 18-20). The senior helped spark Kent State's 6-1 victory over the No. 19 Yellow Jackets Sunday (Feb. 20), posting his third straight multi-hit game by going 3-for-4 with two runs scored.
"Benny had a great weekend," said Stricklin. "Out of all his at-bats this weekend, he maybe had one or two that you'd say weren't good ones. That's pretty tough to do when you're facing great pitching."
IN LIKE A LYON
Kent State junior catcher David Lyon (Emporium, Pa.) came up with two huge defensive plays to help preserve Kent State's 6-1 win over the Yellow Jackets on Sunday.
GT freshman center fielder Kyle Wren attempted to spark a rally in the bottom half of the frame with a single to second base, but Lyon proved his worth as a catcher by picking Wren off at second with a perfect throw to kill any hope of a rally.
Lyon came up huge defensively again in the top of the eighth. After Skoke and sophomore outfielder Brandon Thomas drew walks to put two men on for GT with two outs, Lyon fired down to third baseman Travis Shaw (Washington Court House, Ohio) to end the inning with a pickoff.
"When you can throw people out, it shuts down the running game and any kind of rally they're trying to put together," said Stricklin. "David has the capability to be a great catch-and-throw guy, and hopefully this was an indication of things to come. Today was as good as I've ever seen him."
Lyon has chipped in with his bat in the victory. going 2-for-4 with an RBI.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
After totaling just four runs on 10 hits in the first two games combined, Kent State's offense finally roared to life in the top of the sixth inning, with several freshman helping to spark Kent State's push to a 6-1 win over Georgia Tech on Sunday.
After Klafczynski got things rolling with a leadoff single to right field, freshman designated hitter T.J. Sutton (Uniontown, Ohio) showed veteran plate presence by working the count full and drawing a walk to fill the bases with Flashes. Freshman second baseman Derek Toadvine (Springfield, Ohio) made Georgia Tech pay for its fielding miscue by cracking a clutch two-RBI double down the left field line to give Kent State the lead.
"It's great when a freshman can get a lot of game time early on, and Derek is going to be a big key to our success this year," said Stricklin. "T.J. had some good at-bats today. Guys that do well with their opportunities are going to get more as we go."
WHAT A RELIEF
While Kent State's offense was humming along during Sunday's 6-1 win over GT, senior righthander Justin Gill (Canton, Ohio) and redshirt left-handed sophomore Andrew Chafin (Wakeman, Ohio) preserved Starn's pitching win with strong relief work. Gill fanned three and allowed one hit in 1.1 innings of work while Chafin got the last two outs of the game by inducing a 5-6-3 double play. The contest marked Chafin's first appearance since the 2009 season, as he sat all of 2010 with an elbow injury.
SEE SHAW HIT
Junior Travis Shaw (Washington Court House, Ohio) has two skills every baseball coach salivates over -- power and plate discipline. In 2010, he batted .330 with 76 hits, 22 doubles, 15 home runs, 60 RBIs and 60 runs scored. His 15 round trippers tied for the 10th most in a single-season in school history. Shaw also drew 49 walks to lead both the team and the conference and rank 26th in the nation. His number of free passes ranks tied for third on the school's single-season records list, and his 0.83 walks per game ranked 36th in the nation.
Shaw began to pick up where he left off last season in Sunday's win over GT, providing Kent State with its final insurance run by bashing a home run to right in the top of the ninth.
